Four times Wally thought Artemis looked pretty
by Pichitinha
Summary: And one time he actually said it.


**-1-**

One thing Wally loved about his powers that he never shared with _anyone_ was how, sometimes, a second held so much. Most of the time he's distracted or anxious and doesn't notice anything, but from time to time, on certain occasions, there's that one split second that seems to last forever, where he can see, and hear, and smell and _feel_ in a way that he usually doesn't. And it's in those moments he notices things that are normally the ones he holds on to for the rest of his life.

And, funnily enough – and also something he'll _never_ tell _anyone_ – one of those happens to occur the first time he meets Artemis. He has sunscreen on his nose, his face shoved into the floor of the cave, he has only swim trunks and the whole team plus some League members are observing his embarrassing moment. He looks up and for a second, a tiny, miniscule second for everyone else but him, he sees her. She's tall, she's blonde, she has the most amazing outfit and a super long hair. She's ridiculously pretty and during that second, that one split second, that's all he can think about.

But then she's talking and she isn't exactly _nice_. She's sassy and fierce and usually he'd find that attractive. He _does_ find that attractive. But he's not in his uniform, he's not protected behind the superhero logo that allows him to zoom to her and flirt mercilessly because he _is Kid Flash_. Instead, he's not even Wally West. He's _Wall-Man_. He's in his trunks, on the floor, and she's making fun of him.

So even though his head can't really stop thinking about how _pretty_ she looks and how he'd love to run to her, hook his arm on her shoulders and ask "hey gorgeous, who are you?", all he can do is get up and put on an annoyed face.

"Uh, who's this?"

And, needless to say, it only goes downhill from there.

 **-2-**

Artemis doesn't really reveal her real identity to the team. It's not really a surprise: she's new, she doesn't know all of them that well, and well, Robin never revealed his identity either, so what's the big deal?

It's not really, but it bugs Wally. Everything about Artemis bugs him, honestly. How she's always sarcastic, how she looks like she's hiding something, how she's always wearing her uniform. The last one is obviously stupid and he knows it, especially since he does admit to himself some nights that the green fabric looks amazing on her skin and he loves the bare midriff, but he's just annoyed about everything Artemis and he just wishes she'd wear something different someday because _yes_ and he doesn't need any more reasons.

And as if reading his mind, one day she enters the cave still wearing her uniform, but with a leather jacket on top of it.

Wally immediately regrets his wishes.

It's not even because he misses her bare midriff – although he _does_ – but she just looks ridiculously pretty in the leather jacket, too, and it's simply not fair. She's always fierce and sassy and salty, but the jacket just gives her this extra _bad boy_ aura and Wally hates that it affects him so much.

She walks by everyone, gives a general greet, and smiles lightly. And for a brief second she's smiling at him too and he almost forgets everything and just compliments her right there and then because _damn_ , but soon she's rolling her eyes at him and moving along and he bites down his comment.

"Bought a tricycle?" He asks instead, _stupidly_.

"You have mustard on your face." She answers.

He immediately cleans his mouth and turns away. It's not even going downhill anymore, it's almost Mount Everest.

 **-3-**

It's the most idiotic thing in the world, but as he's about to _die_ , the only thing he can think of is how Artemis looked pretty on the white winter outfit and how he regrets not telling her before she… before the not zeta radiation reached her.

He thinks about how she always looked pretty and about how she was smart and quick witted and about how they really hit it off in Bialya. He thinks about how he should've said something, about how they could have been friends and about how much it hurts him that she's gone. He even thinks about how he might feel something for her more than simple friendship.

He thinks one more time about her, about how much he likes her eyes and how pretty _they_ are, and then it's dark.

When he wakes up, he has the chance to say all of that. Instead, he shuts up for the first time in his life.

It feels like an avalanche.

 **-4-**

Everything happens so absurdly fast that he honestly loses track of time. Everything was fine and then suddenly the whole Justice League has gone crazy and they're fighting their mentors and then Roy is the mole and then Roy _isn't Roy_ and it's just too much. It's hectic and it's New Year's Eve and he's _tired_ and he just wants to go to sleep.

And then he notices Artemis. And she, much like everyone else, is a _mess_. Her hair is out of place, she has marks all over her uniform, and dirt and bruises and cuts all over her skin. She looks dead on her feet.

She's _so pretty_.

The countdown starts and as opposed to what usually happens with him, time goes faster instead of slowing down. He lifts her up in his arms and is a little surprised when she actually stays there, waiting.

He looks at her face and he thinks once again of how pretty her eyes look. He loves her features and her skin tone and the way she furrows her eyebrows. He wants to say she looks beautiful. It feels like it's finally the right time and he can finally say it. But instead, he thinks she needs to hear something else first.

"I should have done this a long time ago."

This seems to please her as she gives him half a smile and hooks her arms around his neck.

"No kidding."

They kiss, then, and there's no time for compliments. But he figures there'll be time for that later, and he looks forward to it.

 **-1-**

It's been exactly 48 hours since Artemis kissed him on the Watch Tower. It's also been 47 hours and 45 minutes since he's last seen her. It was New Year's Day, and they were tired, and he had his family waiting, and she had her mom and it just could wait, right? Sure, she was in his arms for a full ten minutes and he never cared less about sore muscles in his life, and sure, kissing her was the most amazing thing he had done in his mere sixteen years of life, and sure, he never wanted to let her go. But it was late, the league was there, and all their friends were making fun of them. They should find a more private place for _that_ conversation.

At least that's what they said once he finally put her down. She straightened her hair and her clothes and they looked at each other in a way they never had before: unsure and embarrassed. They rambled a few words and agreed to meet later – never mind they never agreed on when or where – and she jokingly punched his arm to try to make it less awkward, but it didn't work.

Lastly, he pulled her in for another kiss. It was a brief kiss, barely a touch of lips, just a goodbye. And when they parted she smiled lightly at him before moving towards the exit. His last thought as she beamed herself to her home was how beautiful she looked.

And that's why he's calling Dick at the moment asking if he knows where she lives. Because they're not supposed to go to the Cave for a few days yet – a deserved break unless a threat rises – and he just can't wait that long. He has to see her and talk to her and kiss her again and he just really needs to tell her how beautiful he thinks she is because it's suffocating him ever since the first time he laid eyes on her.

It takes him thirty minutes to extract the information from Dick because the _dick_ decides to mock him mercilessly before actually helping him out. Turns out she lives in Gotham and he could very well use the zeta beams to go over but he considers the whole logistics and how absurdly _ecstatic_ he is and he just runs without thinking about it. He's not really in his uniform and it's reckless, and if Batman ever find out he's dead, but he just can't seem to care. He just wants to talk to her.

He gets to her place and he would be unsettled by the conditions if he didn't have a goal in mind. He makes sure no one's seen him run and he walks to the front door. He goes up the stairs as slowly as he can, calm, cool and collected, the absolutely opposite of what he's actually feeling, and then he knocks on her door.

It takes a while before he hears any noise inside, and that's when he realizes he totally forgot about _time zones_ and that in Gotham right know it's past three AM. No wonder it took Dick three times to answer his phone.

He worries for a bit that her mom might be the one on the door and then he freaks out because he doesn't know what to say to her. Does she know about him? Does she even know who he is?

But then the door opens and instead it's the archer that meets him on the other side. She was definitely sleeping, her eyes tired and barely open, her hair the biggest mess he's ever seen, her pajamas baggy and old around her figure.

She looks amazing.

"Wally?" She asks uncertain, her eyes trying to focus with just the dim light of the corridor.

"Hi. Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it would be this late in Gotham." He feels bad and he feels scared because the regular Artemis would definitely have killed him by now.

"What are you doing here? How… how did you find out where I live?" Her eyebrows scrunch up but she actually moves a little away from the door so he can come in. She must be still half asleep, it's the only explanation.

"Robin gave me your address." He hears her mutter 'figures' under her breath. "I was thinking about you. We said we'd talk but we never really agreed on when. I don't have your number and… and I couldn't wait another week."

She looks up at him and blinks. He's not sure is she's analyzing his words or just trying to process them through her sleepy mind.

And then she smiles. Well, kind of. But her lips quirk a little and her eyes soften and he's not really thinking straight when he leans down and kisses her.

She kisses him back, hugging him closer, and they stay like that for a few minutes, taking in the fact that they're alone and that this is really happening.

When they part, they're smiling, and Wally can't even understand that his lips are forming words.

"You are so pretty."

It takes a few seconds, but then she snorts. She moves away from him and offers a cup of a tea and tells him to sit down on the couch.

It's quiet, it's simple and most of all it's _comfortable_. He sits and they talk and they kiss and at some point they fall sleep sort of hugging.

In the morning he tells her she looks beautiful just before leaving so her mom doesn't catch them. Turns out her eyes spark a different way whenever he says that and he actually likes it very much.

Apparently he'll have to never stop saying it. It's about time.


End file.
